- New York City’s Democratic mayor, Bill de Blasio, easily won reelection on Tuesday. De Blasio campaigned on his first-term achievements, which include universal pre-K and protecting and promoting affordable housing.
Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio won reelection on Tuesday, beating Republican Staten Island Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis and former police detective Bo Dietl, who ran as an independent.
De Blasio, first elected in 2013, campaigned on his most significant first-term achievements, which include universal free pre-K for 4-year-olds, creating or preserving thousands of affordable housing units, and repealing stop-and-frisk while working to make the NYPD more community focused. He’s been buoyed by the lowest crime rates in decades and stabilizing rent prices.
Despite facing federal and state investigations into his fundraising practices, battles with New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and tensions with the police department, de Blasio managed to coast through his reelection campaign largely drama-free.
Malliotakis strongly criticized de Blasio’s approach to rising homelessness and campaigned on tighter restrictions on immigrants, including stripping New York City of its sanctuary city status and denying undocumented immigrants financial aid for state colleges. But her positions are largely out of step with the city’s predominantly liberal voters.
Dietl, a bombastic supporter of President Donald Trump, focused on attacking both his Democratic and Republican opponents.